The UK’s oldest car marque has announced that it is building its new
AC MkVI in Germany. The AC MkVI will be launched at the Top Marques
car show in Monaco on April 16.

The AC MkVI, a faithful recreation of the ultimate sports car icon -
the AC Cobra, is now being produced in Germany for worldwide sales.
AC has entered into a long term strategic alliance with Gullwing
GmbH in Heyda, Germany. The AC MkVI is being produced in a modern
facility and AC is extremely proud of the quality of the finished
product which is due to the skills of the craftsmen at the Heyda
facility.

AC’s Chairman Alan Lubinsky summarised the main specification of the
new AC MkVI:

“AC is one of the most admired and respected marques in the world,”
stated Juergen Mohr, CEO of Gullwing GmbH. “Their sports cars
ignited a passion that still burns inside enthusiasts today. For
over a century, the company has built cars with superb engineering,
old world craftsmanship and classic designs. We feel extremely
honoured that we can now be part of the future of the brand.”

Alan Lubinsky added:
* “There are two major new features on the AC MkVI. We are
especially excited about the new aluminium-hybrid body construction
on the AC MkVI. This provides the AC MkVI with a traditional
aluminium bodyshell,
reinforced with a strong composite structure. Gullwing GmbH is
currently the only company in the world using this technology which
has been developed in house.In addition to this, the AC MkVI will
have as standard equipment a light weight gullwing hardtop, with
coupled to the standard air conditioning, will provide drivers with
total all weather motoring.

The AC MkVI is an open-top sports car based on the design of the Le
Mans winning AC Cobra with many of the original car's
characteristics while incorporating modern technology. The cars are
not imitations - they are new generation of AC Cobra incorporating
relevant advanced technology.

“Every year approximately 1,500 copies of the cars AC built in the
1960s are sold in America,” says Alan Lubinsky. “Why would anyone
buy a replica when they can own an authentic AC roadster that is
lighter and better and has been engineered and built to such
demanding standards?”

Weighing only about 1,025 kg, the lightweight AC MkVI GTS sports car
can hit 100 kph in approximately 3.3 seconds.

“The AC MkVI is wickedly addictive,” says Gullwing’s Juergen Mohr.
“One drive in this scorchingly fast sports car creates an adrenalin
rush that will last a lifetime. The AC MkVI offers heritage,
performance and timeless styling that stirs the soul.”

The AC chassis has been at the heart of some of the most legendary
cars in history. Texan Carroll Shelby imported a number of rolling
chassis from AC in the 1960s to build the legendary “Cobras” that
dominated international sports car racing. The Shelby American team
inserted a performance tuned Ford V8 and gearbox into a chassis and
body supplied by AC for the North American market. Since then AC has
manufactured a car that has been imitated by numerous companies.

AC expects to appoint a distribution network in Europe in the coming
months to sell and maintain the AC MkVI.